A Louisiana trucker is charged with causing 160-car pile-up that killed eight people by speeding down a highway in a ‘superfog’ and slamming into cars in front of him.
Ronald Britt, 61, was been charged with negligent homicide for his role in a fiery highway pileup that left eight dead last year.
Britt was speeding on Interstate 55 west of New Orleans on Oct. 23, when he slammed into the back of a car that had stopped in the left lane behind several other vehicles, Louisiana State Police said in a statement Tuesday.
The ‘super fog’ of marsh fire smoke and dense fog snared more than 160 vehicles, authorities said.
Eight people died in the multi-collision pileup and 63 were injured, including 60-year-old James Fleming. His wife, Barbara Fleming, 69, survived but was seriously injured in the crash.
A Louisiana truck driver has been charged with negligent homicide for his role in the fiery highway pileup that left eight dead after a ‘super fog’ of marsh fire smoke and dense fog snared more than 160 vehicles
Ronald Britt, 61, was been charged with negligent homicide for his role in a fiery highway pileup that left eight dead last year
Eight people died in the multi-collision pileup and 63 were injured, including 60-year-old James Fleming. His wife, Barbara Fleming, 69, survived but was seriously injured in the crash
The ‘super fog’ of marsh fire smoke and dense fog snared more than 160 vehicles
It took a month for the interstate to fully reopen after repairs were made to the road and bridge, both damaged by the crashes and vehicle fires
Eight individuals were killed and 63 were injured
It took a month for the interstate to fully reopen after repairs were made to the road and bridge, both damaged by the crashes and vehicle fires.
Britt, a commercial truck driver from Lafayette, was arrested on multiple charges, including negligent homicide, negligent injuring, reckless operation and other traffic-related offenses, state police said.
Britt voluntarily surrendered to authorities Monday. It was unknown if he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Another driver who was hit during the accident is still recovering from his injuries.
Months after the crash, Will Lee – who was trapped for hours on I-55 – is still in pain from the injuries sustained when his head gashed open during the collision.
Negligent homicide carries a maximum of five years in prison and a possible $5,000 fine in Louisiana.
Drone footage and videos showed apocalyptic scenes from the aftermath of the wrecks showed a long stretch of mangled and scorched cars near New Orleans.
Vehicles were crushed, rammed under one another and some engulfed by flames. Many people initially stood on the side of the road or on the roof of their vehicle looking in disbelief at the disaster, while others cried out for help.
Piles of disformed cars, heaped on top of one another as firefighters trudged through the debris, remained on the interstate as the sun set.
Hours after the crashes, the smell of burnt wreckage still wafted in the area.
Christopher Coll, 41, was among the drivers in one of the pileups. Coll could smell smoke as he heard the sounds of crashing cars and popping tires.
‘I was already on the brakes, slowing down when an F-250 drove up on top of my work trailer and took me for a ride,’ Coll told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
He was able to kick open his passenger door to escape and then helped others – pulling out one person through a car window.
A vehicle is seen in the water below Interstate 55 near Manchac
Clarencia Patterson Reed was also in the wave of wrecked cars as she drove to Manchac with her wife and niece.
Reed told the newspaper that she could see people waving their hands for her to stop, but when she did her car was hit from behind and on the side by two other vehicles.
‘It was `Boom. Boom.´ All you kept hearing was crashing for at least 30 minutes,’ Reed said.
She was able to scramble out of her car, but her wife was pinned inside and injured her leg and side.
While 25 people were transported to the hospital, with injuries ranging from minor to critical, many others sought medical aid on their own, authorities said.
Gov. John Bel Edwards asked for prayers ‘for those hurt and killed’ on Monday and issued a call for blood donors to replenish dwindling supplies.
Louisiana State Police shared aerial photos on their Facebook page showing the crashed cars and extensive debris on both northbound and southbound lanes of the elevated interstate, which passes over swamp and open waters between lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas.
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